Diaphragm valve



Patented Aug. 5, 1952 1 UNITED STATES PATENT or rice 7 I DIAPHRAGMVALVE M I H Oliver Kaye, Cwmhran, --England, assignor I Saunders Valve Company Limited, Cwmbram; England, a corporation of Great Britain .q

Application October 6, 1945, Serial-No. 620,768 In Great Britain July 25, 1944 1 2 ;Claims'. (01. 251-24) 1 r This invention relates to diaphragm valves, that is to say valves in which the flow of fluid in a channel through the valve body is interrupted by depressing into contact with a weir extending across the channel a rubber or like flexible diaphragm which forms part of the channel wall opposite the weir. The diaphragm extends across an opening in the metal wall of the valve body, and its margin is clamped upon the body around this opening by an actuator housing bolted or otherwise fastened to the body and within which the means for depressing the diaphragm are enclosed. i I

The object of the invention is a diaphragm valve in which the minimum cross-sectional area of the fluid channel when the valve is fully open is large in comparison with the size of the diaphragm and of the valve body, and in which .a fluidtight seal is produced between the diaphragm and the weir by a small pressure of the actuator on the diaphragm.

According to the present invention the diaphragm for such a diaphragm valve is moulded in substantially its fully open form but without a flat edge, or with a, flat edge of lesser radial depth than the annulus which will be clamped upon the valve body. In other-words, the doming of the diaphragm extends oveifl'or partly over, the area of the diaphragm which, when the valve is assembled, is gripped between the body of the valve forming the fluidchanneland the housing of the actuator by which the diaphragm is depressed upon the weir. a 4

The invention will be more fully explained with reference to the accompanying. drawings in which: n

Figure 1 is an elevation, half in axial section, of a. typical diaphragm valve to which the invention is applied; e f I Figure 2 shows in diametral section the form, when unstrained, of a diaphragm for the valve of Figure l constructed according to this invention; and

Figure 3 is a plan of the diaphragm. Ti 7 The general form of the valve shown in Figure l is well known. The valve body I has ends 2, 3, adapted for connection into a pipe line. There is a fluid channel 4 through the body from end to end; but the channel is not straight, there being a weir 5 with a downwardly bowed. upper edge 6 extending across the fluid channel. Opposite the weir there is an approximately circular .opening 1 in the metal wall-of the valve body I.

usually of about twice the diameter-of the cir- ,cular ends of the fluid channel 4; Upon the edgebetween the actuator housing I 'I and the margin 8 of this opening there is clamped the 'margin 9 of a diaphragm l0 which extends across the whole area oi the opening I. The margin of the. diaphragm lis, 'clamped upon the valvebody .by an actuator housing II, which in the construction illustrated is shown as secured to,the body I by boltsor studs 1 2 however this method of fastening the actuator housing isnot essential to the invention.

There are many known ways of depressing the diaphragm I0 into sealing contact with the .weir 6 and these form no. part of the present invention. The diaphragm may be "pressed down pneumatically ori'hy'draulic ally by air or water pressure applied, usually, toa piston or another diaphragm and through an actuator to the valve diaphragm. ,The" valve illustrated is a typical hand-operated valve, in whichith'e actuator l3 which presses down the diaphragm is moved downward by screw action. Theactuator housing ll provides a bearing for the spindle l4'which carries a hand'whe'el l5 outside'the housing and i threaded .at its lower end, at Hi, to engage a nut llconfined withinthe actuator I3. I

Theactuat'orjl3 here shown has a solid centre from which projefi radial webs I8 with .convexly curved 1ow'er; edges. l 9. The solid .centre of the actuator I3 is secured tothe diaphragm 10 by means of a screwed stud 20 which is moulded into the diaphragm.. U Y 'i I 'In the construction shownftliere'is' clamped of the diaphragm Ill a sheet metal domezl having a wide'opening .in its middle and having its inner part 22slotte'd'to allow the passage of the lower endsiof the webs l8.

'Th'esedetails of known constructions are h'ere described, not by way of limitation'of the present the fluid channel when the valve is closed.

The diaphragm IU is commonly of rubber,

though in certain cases it may have to bemade .of a rubber substitute. It must be strong enough to withstand thepressure of the fluid it controls.

Yet, if it is made ery thick its flexiblility will be small; It maytherefore be renforc'edwth canvas .or the like indicated at 223; For itwill' be clear that the extent to which the diaphragm can its diameter.

be bowed'orj bulged upward and downward deactuator housing H, and so adds to the weight and cost of the valve. So the diaphragm is made relatively thin and flexible; and it is supported against the pressure of the fluid when in the open position by the dome 2|, and when in the closed position by the curved edge of the actuator webs l9.

While these measures lead to a valve having a wide area of fluid channel when open in proportion to the size and weight of the valve, they tend to increase the difficulty ofensuring thorough sealing when the valve is cl losede For inevitably there are imperfections-in the surfaceof the weir edge 6; the weir maynot .be exactly; of the designed shape; there may be? roughnesses; -1

Naturallysuch. defects are kept as small as is practicallyzpossi in its surface, or minute pits.

4 vex. Now the stretching of the corresponding zone of the outer surface does not in itself give rise to any particular difficulty; but the concomitant compression of the corresponding zone of the. inner surface leads to the formation of an annular rib n-bulge inthe rubben; -This bulge being already under compression due to the deformation of the rubber itself, can only with difllculty be further compressed so as to allow the central part of the diaphragm and particularly the part next within the bulge, to bed closely -upon the weir.

' Itis to remedy this difilculty that the present invention, has; been worked out. According to the invention the diaphragm is moulded as hitherto to substantially the shape it is to have when fully open, but it is moulded without a flat margin,

ble; but there must always be a certain toler-M ance of imperfection inthe weir edge.

New ifa thick rubber diaphragm is depressed upon a wein-the comprelssion-ofthe rubber itselL'ij sufiicient pressure is exerted, will cause it to fit, tcimperfectio nsoi iorm, to bed itself into mi te i s, and to-make sealing contact with rough patches oi the surface, and for this reason i has e e been Pree e d e k the diaphragm thicker than considerations of strength require 'notwithstanding the sacrifice, of flexibility in- Re arch ha shewn th t e a e. W "it s most dimeul to vent e e n a the nds f he We r end i hes ee m to b due 'teihe een i co formin t the shape of t weir hen it is de res d b y h e tueter- 1 l l be elee ihet a'd a hr'e for' a iephra m-va may be n eulded v an on of three ways. It can be mouldedflat; that is not d irab e erthei bber must h be eformed to its full'open or its closed positiqn beforeits ma gin is clam ed; and heuehtha can done by: experts inthevalve factcry it is commonly ne orrec ly-done by t e enii her i es e t9 replac the; di ph agm. ltmaybe. mouldd t the hen wire-$11 on clos osit on. u

since his liftedto open p0 ticn mainly b jthe:

pressure of the fluid it wi Q12, openvery fully. It has therefore been foundbest hitherto to mouldthe diaphragm the form'itrh a s when the vaiveis fully open. Thjcentral part of; the ia hra m is domed as" deeply as is consistent with the diameter and thickness of the diamirage i be ng remembered hat the d m must be reversed when the diaphragm is depressed'upon the weir; the margin of the diaphragm, which is to be clampedb'etween the actuator'housing H andthe valve body I, is fiat.

Now research has shown that when the curvature of the known diaphragm is reversed there is a bunching ofrubber just withinthe clamped margin. That is understandable, for the surface,

or with only a narrow flat margin of less radial width than the annulus which will be clamped between the actuator housing and the valve body.

A; typical form oi diaphragm according to the invention, intended for the valve of Figure l, is shown in Figure 2 There it will be seen that the 'wholeof the marginal part ofthe diaphragm.

namely the zone- 25, is coned. The generator of the coned surface is not straight; a tangent-to the surface becomes more steeply inclined to the plane of the diaphragm edge the further the point of contact of the tangent moves from the ed The diaphragm is seen in plan in Figure 3. It is somewhatelongated in the direction'of the length of the valve body, to correspond with bulges in the housing I I which accommodate ears the actuator preventing it turning. In its edges arerecesses 21 or perforations for the passage of the studs [2.- Tabs 28 projecting from its edge serve for-marking indications of the class and size of valve for which the diaphragm is in- "tended, so that the required diaphragmfor replacement may be ascertained without taking the valve to pieces. The width of the clamped margin is indicatedby the dottedline 2 9;

It is not,,however, essential that the diaphragm shall be coned right up to its periphery. The purpose to' be aimed at is to cause the zone 25 to be in tension whenthe d iaphragm is clamped upon the valve body andis in the open positionyso that when its curvature reversed the zone 254s substantially unstressed instead of being in compression. It'may therefore be satisfactory for some purposes tomould the diaphragnr of conical form up, to, say, the radius of he. inne ede elq h p r ure 2 l ving th outer edge flat.

What I claim is; l: di ph a m. va v mpr s n a valve body, an actuator housing secured upon said body, opposed matching cooperating clamping surfaces n a mu ing endqb d an a tua r. i i hou in a a... re l e t iaph a co n of a central part which when unstrained by the actuator is convex towards the actuator housi e or es end n th t e ully op n p it of he e een ii-ma ginal a t w ch i a pe etw e ai lam ng urt eesbu which when unclamped does not match said clamping surfeeesbutz a 'at least i s n'er portion diver in ew yi em he c am in s enc n e o 2. In a diaphragm valve the combination of a valve-body, an actuator housing secured upon said body; flat, cooperating clamping surfaces on said body and-housing, and a resilient diaphragmin- "cluding a' margin clamped between said clamping surfaces at least the inner portion of such margin being coned when the diaphragm is unclamped and the diaphragm being mounted with the coned part directed away from the body of the valve so that when clamped the zone of the diaphragm next within the clamped margin is in tension on its inner surface when the valve is in the open position.

OLIVER KAYE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the the of this patent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Saunders Apr. 26, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain of 1854 

